Fighting the old me

Image by Stuck in Customs via Flickr

For the next few days I have to drive to downtown Atlanta each morning for a conference. It’s not a horribly long drive by any means, maybe 30 minutes. But as I drove into the city this morning I caught myself quietly whining about the constant rain today and the cold and the traffic and so on. I wasn’t until I exited onto Courtland Avenue, which is very near Renaissance Park, that I caught the error of my ways.

While I was busy whining about having to drive in the rain, there are homeless men and women all around me who have no escape. Or at least very little. While I was in a warm bed last night, they were outside. When I was warming up the car this morning, they were just trying to stay warm. And while I was driving to a conference that has to do with a business I own, they were wondering if they will ever get back on their feet again.

I write this for two reasons. First, to confess the error of my thinking this morning and pray that I won’t do it again. And second, to hopefully give us all a little perspective on the gravity, or lack thereof, of our everyday problems. Tomorrow, I will make the same drive. This time I will do it with prayer and thanksgiving.